International Spy Museum

James A. Lafayette, Revolutionary War Spy

A presentation on James A. Lafayette.

James A. Lafayette was a spy for the Patriots in Virginia during the fight for American Independence. Working closely with Marquise de Lafayette, this enslaved man undertook “important commissions” and gathered “intelligences from the enemy’s camp.” This talk will explore how we know about James and his work as a spy for the Patriots—from speculation to documentation.

"In 1781 James Armistead, an enslaved African American, advantageously deployed his humble status to spy on behalf of George Washington's Continental Army during a crucial point in the American Revolutionary War. As a volunteer serving under the Marquis de Lafayette--one of General Washington's most trusted adjutants and an important figure in the war against the British Empire--the man known only as James during the period of his life he spent in bondage managed to infiltrate a British military encampment near Yorktown, Virginia, where he served food and beverages to top-ranking officers. The intelligence he gleaned about British troop strength and the Redcoats' plan to invade the Southern colonies enabled Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette to strategize a winning defense that routed the British in the pivotal Battle of Yorktown in October of 1781."

-"James Armistead." Contemporary Black Biography Online, Gale, 2020. Gale In Context: Biography

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